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Gun Review: Bersa .380 Thunder Duotone

Last week, my dad gave me a new-in-box Bersa Thunder .380 Duotone. Frankly? I'd never even heard of Bersa before. I have a S&W .38 spcl Bodyguard revolver, and a S&W 9mm 3913. I use the revolver for carry, and the 9mm for home defense/range shooting. I'd mentioned to him that I was going to be looking for a smaller semi-automatic to carry in specific cases where I wanted to carry using an underarm holster shirt I have, because the .38 was a little too big for that. I needed something lower profile for that specific purpose.

He called me up a couple of days later and offered it to me. (Did I mention I LOVE my dad? LOL) He'd originally bought it to carry, but he has a different one he carries all the time now and offered it to me rather than it sitting in his gun safe and not being used.

I took it to the gun range Saturday and ran a box of 50 rounds through it. It jammed a couple of times on me, usually on the first shot of 7 in the magazine, but other than that it was a joy to shoot. The gun shop there said likely it was just due to it being so new, and to take it home, clean and oil it well, and try again. (They also mentioned this was one of their most popular guns they sell.)

So, I did. Took it back to the range on Sunday and it was like a different (and even better) gun. Another 50 rounds through it, and it performed flawlessly.

Can't say the same about my aim, but I can hit what I'm aiming for at 10 yards with a handgun, so that's good enough for me. LOL (I've always been better with rifles than with handguns, and now that I'm shooting skeet, trying to remember my handgun "stuff" after nearly three years since hitting the range and I'm just glad all my shots were acceptable. LOL Even at 50 feet, I still had decent aim with it.

As a reminder, I'm a female with both fibromyalgia and OA in my hands. Which is why my .38 is nearly exclusively for carry purposes and NOT range shooting. It beats me to death, and when Sir tried it yesterday, He took His first shot with it and was like, "Holy crap, how do you hold on to it?" LOL (Yes, I have decent aim with it, but it hurts like hell to shoot it.)

I love my S&W 9mm (which my dad also gave me) because I can run a hundred rounds or more through it and it doesn't hurt me at all. I was happy to see the Bersa gave me similar performance. After shooting it and the 9mm on Saturday, my hands were great. I ran 10 rounds through the revolver (5-round gun) and holy crap, my hands were killing me. I didn't fire the .38 at all on Sunday, just the .380 Bersa and the 9mm S&W, and no problem.

I easily disassembled it for cleaning and oiling, and reassembly was also easy.

I am not a firearm wunderkind by any stretch of the imagination, so I refer you to the manufacturer's website for detailed information. From what I understand, these guns are very similar to Walther PPKs. It also has a drop hammer feature to decock it, as well as a built-in lock so that even if a round is chambered and the magazine in place, you cannot fire the gun. (Nice feature as an extra layer of security for people with kids in the home.) From what I understand, and what I saw at the Tampa gun show yesterday morning, these are very reasonably priced guns, usually under $400, frequently closer to $300. I can personally attest to how it fires, at least in my experience. I'm very happy with it, and look forward to having it for years to come. If you're a woman looking for a reasonably priced weapon that won't beat you to death, try one of these out if you have a gun shop that will let you rent or test fire one. I don't know how it compares in weight and size to similar guns, and it's not a sub-compact frame. It's smaller and lighter than my 9mm (which is why I don't use my 9mm for carry).

So, those are my thoughts on it. Disclaimer: I was not paid to give a review, I have no affiliation with the manufacturer/importer, and it was given to me as a gift by my dad, who purchased it.

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reader comments:

OOHH! I like it! I am in the hunt for a small conceal carry gun. I haven't found one I like yet. However, I LOVE my Hi-Point 9mm Carbine my dad gave me for my birthday. I love taking it to the range. Mel

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